Improvement in carbonic-agsd engines



PATENT OFFICE.

'NELSON H. BARBOUR, OFAUBURII, NEW YORIL -lMPFtQVEMENT IN CARBONICjAClU ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,769, dated March 14, 1865.

.To aZZ wlgogm it my concern.-

Be it known that lyNELsoN H. BARBoUB,

of Auburn, in the countyof Cayuga, inthe State of New York, have invented a new and `Improved Method for Applying Force to Loco lmotivoPurposes; and I do hereby declare thet'the following is s fullv end'exaet descrip tionfdhereof, reference being .had to the' accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference mnrked thereon.

My invention consists in using the expansive force of the vapor or gas resulting from the evaporatin of liqueliedcarbonic acid and .other vgases to be used as a portable motive power,and in collecting the whole 'or a. considerable part cf the expanded gas to be again liquefied for subseqi ent use by s. force independent of or in addition to that result` ing from its own expansion. Y

I proceed to describe the general features "of thearrangementand machinery that may be used in applying my invention to propelling street-railroad cars, now ordinarily drawn by horses.

Machinery forliquefying the gas would be established at convenient points on the line of road, ordinarily'at one or both ends of suchroad, depending, of course, upon its length.

In liquefying carbonio acid, which is the gas I deem best adapted to the application of 'my invention, I prefer to divide the process into three stages. Taking" the gas at atmosphe'ric pressure,it is condensed by one' pump or set of pumps to about ten atmospheres.

Thegas so compressed is then, by another pump or set of pnmps,taken from the receiver and forced into a second receiver at a pressure of about `twenty-live atmospheres. A third pump or 'setA of pumps then carries it to a third receiver, where it is liquefied under a pressure of thirtysix or more atmospheres, depending upon its temperature. The temperature of the ga's'should be kept as low as is practicable during its compression by surrounding these receivers with ice. The receivers for holding the liquid should be made of the best Wroughtiron, with welded joints, andof sufficient strength to safely bear at leastl one hundred and fifty atmospheres to the square inch. The force-pumps' used in" liquefying thel gas are worked by steam or vother convenient power. Each loeomotivecar has a receiver or heilen, as shown at a, in

the` accompanying drawing, for holding the liquefied gas, and also suitable macbineryfor applying the expansive force of the gas to propelling the car.A This machinery consists of one-or more pairs of cylinders, with pistons, valves, connections, dre., similar to 'those used with steam.

the boiler through its steem or vapor chest and pipe d. The'amount of vapor to be used eut-oil' valves. The second cylinder, O,is fed79 by or through the exhaust of b, through pipe f, and is twice the diameter of'cylinder b. Two and four inches diameter. and 4twelve .inches stroke are' the; sizes ,here represented which is a gasometer attached to 'the top of the1 car, and of e capacity of four hundred and iifty times that of the volume of litleted gas in boiler a. This gascmeter may v made of any suitable material. Iprei'er-to make the boards, properly supported,and lined, together with the roof of the car, with glazed or enam- -eled muslin, cemented to the wood by paint or other means, so as to renderit impervious to the ges. The top of the ga'someter is made of similar material, and of a size and shape to cover and fit onto the top of the car. The sides'of the upper half of the gasomcter are made of india-rubber. cloth. When the gasometeris empty, its top will reston the topot .the level of the..uppe1" edge ot' vthe wood-work around its sides, and when full it will project above the wooden sides. i

The relative sizeof boiler a and of the gasometer 7c is always the same; 'but their real capacity should vary with the length of road,

or more cubic feet, according to the amountof Work to be accomplished at each trip. The onel here presented, a, holds two cubic feet.

The pressure of vapor as itenters the cylin der b will vary from about live hundred vpounds to eightA hundred per square inch', depending upon its 'temperaturel- At 600 Fahrenheit it is about-fifty atmospheres. In being drawn oil orpermitted to escape through Cylinder b (see drawing) is connected with at each stroke is regulated by throttle or for the pairs of cylinders. The: exhaust of cylinder C is through pipe g, andinto lc, which 4 sides,l for about one-half .its height, of thinL the car. When hait full, its top will rise tosize of car, Sac. Boiler a may hold one, two, Y

stands in a.

the cylinders its temperature and pressure fall to about the minimum point, caused by` its own evaporation; hence, under some eircumstanees, I apply artificial heat to the vapor just before it enters the cylinders, by means of a lamp or other contrivance. To explain my method of transferring the liquid'to. 'the boiler on the car and the, gas from thetop of the car to the stationary gasometer at the depot, we will suppose the car to have just entered the depot,at the end of a trip.' There is but little liquid gas in a, while gasometer k istnearly filled with gas. 'l Communication between boiler a and the reservoir of liquid gas, which is kept constantly on hand at the depot, is made by coupling' a. vpipe leading from' such reservoir with pipe h, 'which connects with u, while a second pipe connecting Athe top of a with the top of the reservoir is opened. .The reservoir stands l on a higher level than a,

so that the liquid iows into a by its gravity, while the second pipe allows the pressure of vapor to equalize itself in the two vessels. c should 'never be lled entirely full of liquid, for similar reasons that make it improper to iill a stearmboile'r full of water. It may, however., 'be filled to within three tor four inches of the top. v I use a glass liquid-gage, (of very thick glass, like a barometer-stem,) so as tosee how high the liquid At the same time that a is being filled, I empty the gasometer k by couplingA a pipe which leads from the stationary gasometer onto z', at i, when the gas in k is drawn' ott' "by, means of a blower or a suction-pump, or

other convenient means. The drawing off of this gas, and 4filling of a, will ordinarily re.- quiro two'or three minutes, when the car is ready for a second trip. The handles of the valves for feeding the cylinders b and G are so arranged to be governed at either end of the vand retaining the whole or a considerable part of the'expanded gas to be again liquefied for subsequent use, when the same is done` through devices and by a power and ma-v chinery independent of-or in ,addition to that connected with its own. expansive force, substantiall y in the manner shown and described.

N. H. BARBOUR. Witnesses:

PETER COOPER., JosEPHB. HH'LL. 

